The Baptism of St. Paul

12th century
Mosaic
Palatine Chapel, Palermo, Sicily

See Acts 9:10-19. In Damascus, the Lord has told Ananias in a vision to lay his hands on Saul and baptize him. The image makes it clear that the baptism is of both water and the Holy Spirit (the dove descending from the hand of the Father in the upper right).

The man on the left wears a liturgical vestment and carries the candle that later became a feature of the baptismal service.

The inscription above says PRAECEPTO CHRISTI BAPTIZATUR PAULUS AB ANANIA, "At Christ's command, Paul is baptized by Ananias."

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View the entire Peter and Paul Cycle in the Palatine Chapel.
Read more about St. Paul.

• Home Page
• Iconography of St. Paul
• The Chapel's Peter-Paul Cycle
• This Mosaic

Photographed at the chapel by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.